Top

In Memoriam

Liena Furkalo

1960 – 2006

Community Development Coordinator, JDC Odessa

Liena Furkalo joined JDC Odessa in 2003. A biologist by training, she worked in the Community Development Department as Coordinator for the Southern Ukrainian communities of Feodosia, Kerch, and Simferopol. She also directed the Food, Medical, Winter Relief, and SOS Emergency Assistance programs. She lost her life in 2006 in an automobile accident while on official JDC business.

Extended Profile

Liena Furkalo was born in 1960. A single mother and a biologist by training, Liena joined JDC Odessa in 2003. She worked in the Community Development Department as Coordinator of the Southern Ukrainian Communities of Feodosia, Kerch, and Simferopol. She also directed the Food, Medical, Winter Relief, and SOS Emergency Assistance programs. Liena Furkalo was described by her co-workers as a very friendly person who perpetually smiled and was always calm, even under pressure. She successfully adjusted to life in the post-communist society, adapting to its new realities and rediscovering her Jewish heritage. Although she had no formal Jewish education, she enrolled her daughter in the local Jewish school. Liena Furkalo lost her life in an automobile accident while on official JDC business. She is survived by her mother and her daughter.

Sources

Irina Zborovskaya, Odessa Office, JDC.

Testimonies gathered by the New York office of JDC.